Almost everyone has heard about IQ tests. In a lot of printed publications, focused on women in particular, you may find them. Or just google ‘IQ tests’ and you will get as many as you like. A number of more or less difficult questions will pop up and you have to figure out the appropriate answer. Press ‘Submit’ and seconds later you will have the judgement of your mental capacity. Neat and simple.
To start over, what is an IQ test really? What is the meaning of the IQ score? IQ is the ‘Intelligence Quotient’, a number telling how ’smart’ you are compared to other people. It’s supposed to give you an idea of how well you’ll do at a certain profession or how well you’ll perform academically.
The whole idea of the IQ test is to measure the potential of your brains using problems posed to you on paper. What is measures is the ability to solve written problems. Your intelligence is gauged in respect to another person. It’s one method commonly used to measure human intelligence.
IQ 100 is defined as the average of the whole population. If your score is higher than 100 you are more intelligent than average. A score below 100 tells that you are less intelligent than average.
Positive sides of the IQ test
- Employment Let’s say you’re hiring someone for a new job. One way to get a better understanding of the candidate’s capabilities would be to let them take an IQ test. You could select the type of test to use. These may be more related to the type of work involved. The results should give a clue on the suitability of the candidate for the position. That way some candidates could be eliminated since they would most likely not be able to make the job.
- College entrance IQ tests could complement the SAT in the judgement of a student’s intellectual potential. This would be useful if there are too few places on the course to accommodate everyone who wants to study. You could pick the cream of the crop from the high IQ scorers and send rejection slips to those who didn’t make the grade.
Negative sides of the IQ test
- IQ tests don’t tell the full story Many people who score well in IQ tests may not perform well in real life situations. Quite a large share of high IQ persons are simply not as successful as you would expect from their IQ score.
- Not the most important success factor College students who initially showed promising scores on their IQ test ended up not being so hot when they sat their term papers. According to some scientific studies have shown that a high self-discipline is more important than a high IQ score. Relying only on smartness is not enough you must put whatever IQ you have to work to do really well. Often high IQ students are overtaken since they do not put in enough effort as the courses become more difficult.
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IQ does not measure everythingFor example IQ tests can’t measure how well you’ll do as a leader. Another area not covered is your emotional intelligence, also called EQ, how good you are at handling other people and relationships. There is also the theory of multiple intelligences, that defines 8 different aspects of intelligence that you may have to varying degrees. Intelligence is so much more than a single score.